Becoming a Guardian
by AllynaMoonlight
Summary: Elsa meets Jack again for the first time in twelve years. Elsa is thrilled, but she wonders why he's so different from everyone else; why he can't be seen. She'll soon find out, along with learning what it feels like to be like him, alone and unseen. (Definitely a Jelsa lover's story.) ON HOLD
1. Carefree and Fearless

**Hi, everyone! This is my first story, hopefully of many. Please give me any suggestions you may have, I will consider each and every one of your ideas. And another thing, give me honest feedback. I want to be the best writer I can, so I'm asking you all to help me get there!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Rise of the Guardians_ or _Frozen_. :(**

**~Allyna**

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It's been over a year since I accidentally brought the winter to Arendelle. Anna and Kristoff just had their honeymoon in my ice castle and I'm here to take them home. The only ones here are the newlyweds, me, and Olaf, who refused to let me get them without him.

"Elsa, are you coming?" Anna asks me.

I shake my head. "I think I'll stay a bit longer. Don't wait for me, I'll catch up." I smile.

"If you say so," Anna says as she walks out the door with Kristoff. Olaf hobbles along just behind.

It's just me and my castle now. Almost. I sense another presence. I can feel eyes staring at me. A cold wind stirs behind my back and I spin around. A figure stands, watching me. "Jack?" I ask. I remember him. When I was young he taught me how to use my powers, until I had to send him away after hurting Anna. I could not practice anymore after that. Yes, this was the same person. "Jack!" I say his name again. My smile is mirrored on his face as I run into his arms. "I've missed you," I whisper, holding him tight.

"I missed you, too," he says back. "When I heard that you weren't hiding anymore I wanted to come find you. But I figured it was best to wait a while before I came."

"I'm glad you did come." I pull away from his arms and study his face. I'd never noticed how handsome he was. When I was young I didn't care what he looked like, I just wanted to learn. But it was still the same face. "You haven't changed at all."

"You have." Suddenly his eyes were filled with sorrow. He was remembering all those years when he had to stay away. All those years when he couldn't see me. Then they brightened again. "I suppose it's been a while since you had any fun, huh?"

I try not to smile as I form a snowball behind my back. "Yes, quite a while," I say, snickering.

"What's so funny?" he asks. He turns his head to look behind him, and just as he does, I throw the snowball. I hit him right on the chest.

He smiles. "That's more like it!" We take turns flinging snow at each other. I haven't had this much fun since last time I saw him.

I sit from exhaustion after a while. I realize that I miss the days when I was carefree and fearless, with Jack teaching me how to use my powers. He made me stronger. We still met at night even after my parents told me not to use them. He'd keep on teaching me, making me more dangerous, until it scared me. I was nine when I finally sent him away. I was worried I'd hurt someone, maybe even him. He understood and left immediately. I had hurt him internally, though. Finally, he found a child who shared his abilities, but she sent him away. I regret it.

"I wish I'd never sent you away," I say slowly. He comes to sit next to me.

"You only did what you had to do." I knew he'd forgiven me long ago. But I still felt guilty. I let him down.

"But I shouldn't have pushed you away. You could have taught me so much more."

"It's all right, I still can."

"Jack, will you stay?" I beg. "I… I want you to show me more."

"Yeah. It'll be nice to have a student again."

"It'll be nice to have a teacher again."

I smile. We will be just like we were in the old days.

Carefree and fearless.


	2. Jack's Story

"Anna, Kristoff!" I call as I catch up to them. They're about to drive away in the sled. "Wait up!" I hop into the sled with a huge grin on my face.

"Well, someone's happy," Anna says. "What were you doing back there?"

"Just, uh, tidying up," I say. I can't tell her about Jack yet. This day is about her and Kristoff.

"Okay," Anna says. I can tell she doesn't believe me. That's all right. She'll find out soon enough.

"Is everyone ready?" Kristoff asks. He yanks the reigns when everyone nods.

I look back once more before heading down the mountain. Jack is still just outside the castle where I left him, leaning on his staff. I smile, looking forward to the days when he can teach me more. As he disappears from sight, I realize the true reason why I'm so glad he's back. It's because he protects me. He always has. But, why?

A few weeks have passed since I last saw Jack. We agreed to wait a while after Anna and Kristoff's wedding so we could get things settled down. Today would be a good day to introduce them to each other. But first I have to get Jack's attention. I do not know where he is or where to start looking. I decide to make iceworks, like fireworks with ice. I send up one. Two. Three. Is he even watching? Four. Five. There! I can see him flying down from way up in the sky.

"What took you so long?" I ask.

"Snow day over at Corona," he replies.

"Oh, really? How are Rapunzel and Flynn?"

"Doing well. But I know that's not why you wanted me."

"No. I wanted to introduce you to Anna and Kristoff."

"I don't know about that…"

"Why not?" I ask. I don't understand why he wouldn't want to meet my sister and her husband.

"Nobody can see me except you."

"Why?" This doesn't make any sense to me. "You're a person, aren't you? Is there some kind of spell?"

"No. I mean, I don't know." He sighs and shakes his head. Finally, he looks up at me and says, "A while ago, I just appeared out of nowhere. I was underwater and all I could see was the moon. It told me that my name was Jack Frost, but that was all he told me. I don't remember anything before that."

I stared at him, unable to comprehend what he'd just said. I always thought he was just like me. I was wrong. "I...I guess I just thought that..." I trail off. I don't know what to say. I look up at him and he's staring at me with wide eyes, waiting for my reaction. Waiting for me to run away or something. After a while I finally say, "Anna might be able to see you. If I could, why shouldn't she? I mean, we're sisters after all."

"We can see," he says, "but don't get your hopes up." He flies off and I'm left alone again.

Now I have to talk to Anna.


	3. Invisible

"Anna, can we talk?" I ask. She's sitting on the couch next to Kristoff.

"Yeah, of course. What is it?" She asks.

"Um…" I look at Kristoff.

"Oh, alone?"

"Yeah," I say. I cast Kristoff an apologetic glance. He just shrugs and pulls out his guitar as we leave.

I take her to my room. It's covered all around with ice. Sculptures are scattered here and there. A giant ice chandelier hangs low, reflecting the light into all different colors making it look like all the ice is stained glass.

"Wow," Anna says. "This is impressive."

"Anna, look." I sigh, trying to figure out where to begin. "Okay, so there's this man-"

"Really?" Anna cuts me off. "I can't believe it! You know I was starting to think that you'd never find love, but now-"

"Anna!" I stop her. "It's not like that."

"Oh."

"He was my mentor when I was young before I…" I look at her hair. The white streak is gone, but the memory isn't. "He had powers like me. He taught me how to use them. How to make them stronger, and… Oh, you're never going to believe me." I give up. It's no use.

"No, keep going," Anna tells me. "I believe you."

I give her a grateful smile. "That's where I was when you went back to the sled. I hadn't seen him in so long. I actually wasn't expecting to see him there. But I did."

"Okay, and?"

"I want to introduce you to him," I say. I walk to the window and send up another icework. He comes quicker this time. I can already see him flying towards me. Anna walks over to the window and looks out.

"What are you looking at?" She asks. It didn't work. She can't see him. As he nears the window, I shake my head. He nods, understanding that it didn't work.

"Nevermind," I say. "He's just an imaginary friend."

"Elsa, are you okay?" Anna asks with concern. "I mean, I don't remember you having an imaginary friend and why would you talk about it now? Um, you're a little pale."

"I'm fine. I'm sorry, it was foolish of me to tell you."

"Um, okay. Can I get you anything?" She asks. I shake my head. "Okay. I'm gonna head back to the living room. You're welcome to join us if you want."

"No, thanks. I think I'll stay." Anna goes back to the living room. When she's gone I say to Jack, "So, no one else really can see you. It's like you're invisible."

"Yeah, but you get used to it. Besides, if anyone were to see me, I'm glad it's you."

I smile. I wonder how hard it must be for him, all alone all the time. But then I realize that I do know what it's like. I was locked away once, and I couldn't see anyone and they couldn't see me.

We have a lot more in common than I realized.

"Like this?" I ask. Jack is showing me how to use my powers and control them better.

"Almost." He laughs. Apparently I'm doing it all wrong. "Just try to focus on you center."

"My what?" I have no idea what he is talking about.

"It's what makes you, you. What's so different about you that makes you special?" He explains. I try to understand. What makes me different? My ice powers. What else? "Mine is fun." He says shooting off into the air and doing several somersaults before coming back down.

I try to think of what defines me. My freedom. "What about freedom?" I ask.

"Yeah. I think that's it! So try to focus on the freedom your powers give you."

I close my eyes and think of how much freedom I have now. I'm reminded of building my ice castle and being free from the responsibilities of being queen of Arendelle. Energy starts flowing through my body and I know that I am free once again. Without opening my eyes, I take off, sending ice out of my hands.

As I'm running I hear Jack call out, "Elsa, wait!"

I open my eyes at the last second, but it's too late. I'm headed straight towards a cliff. I try to stop myself, but the ice is making me slip closer to the edge. Jack is running towards me now, but I know he won't be able to save me. I scream as I slip over the edge and fall to the ground. My body slams against the ice at the bottom and I immediately wish it were snow. I can feel the life draining out of my body. I take my last breath just as Jack comes flying down to me. And then, there's nothing.

I can hear someone crying. But, how? I'm supposed to be dead. I blink my eyes open and see Jack standing close by. How am I seeing all this? I don't understand. "Jack, what's wrong?" I ask. He doesn't reply. He just stands there with his head in his hands. I stand up and walk over to him. "Jack? Are you okay?" Suddenly he looks up at me.

"I should have saved her," he says. "I should have tried harder."

"Jack what are you-" He starts walking closer to me. Then, he passes right through me. He can't see me, can't feel me. I know how it is for him now. Nobody can see him or touch him, like me now. He flies away with tears in his eyes, leaving me without even knowing. He's gone. I'm gone.

I wonder if I still have my powers even though I'm dead. I hold up my hand and send out a small snowflake. Yes, I can still create ice. I stop when I realize that I'll have to think of some way to tell Anna that I'm dead. She won't be able to see me. Maybe I can tell her with my ice powers. Or maybe Olaf can still hear me since I made him and he can tell Anna. I don't know. I'll figure it out when I get there.


	4. I talk to Anna

I run to find Anna. I need to know if she can still see me, but after she couldn't see Jack, I doubt she'll be able to see me. When I open the doors to the castle in Arendelle, Olaf is the first person, or snowman, that I see. "Olaf!" I call. "Olaf, can you see me?"

He looks up at me with huge innocent eyes. "Yeah, why?"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I'll explain later. Come with me."

Olaf and I walk to Anna's room. I knock on the door. She comes to open it and says, "Oh, hi Olaf. What do you need?"

I was right. She can't see me. "Olaf, I need you to tell her that I'm here."

"Why? Can't she see you?" Olaf asks.

"No, and she can't hear me either. So I need you to tell her that I'm right here," I say. I'm not sure if Olaf understands any of this.

He stares at me for another second then looks at Anna. "How did you turn yourself invisible? Can't you just un-invisiblize yourself?" This is getting nowhere.

"Olaf, who are you talking to?" Anna asks.

I look up at her with pleading eyes. "Anna, it's me, Elsa. Oh, please see me." Nothing.

"Elsa," Olaf answers Anna's question. "She's right here. But she says that other people can't see her. Just me!"

"If you say so," Anna says doubtfully. She closes the door leaving me and Olaf by ourselves.

"Like that?" Olaf asks.

"Yes. Good job Olaf. You can go, um, meet new people now," I say. I need to talk to Anna alone.

"Ooh! New people?" He runs down the hall singing some song about how joyful he gets when he meets someone.

I knock on the door again. I need to get into her room so I can try to write on the walls with ice. She opens the door. "Olaf, is that you?" I walk through her into the room. "Hmm… that's odd." She closes the door again clearly confused.

"I hope this works," I mutter as I begin to create letters on the wall. After the first word, I look back at Anna. She's standing there with her mouth open and her eyes wide. I keep putting the ice on the wall. Almost done… there! I step back and look at my work. It says: "Anna, it's me, Elsa. I'm invisible and no one can see me. I do not understand why, you just have to believe me."

"Oh, Elsa," Anna gasps. She covers her mouth with her hands. "I hope you're all right." I smile. It worked. Then, she looks in my direction and I can't believe what she says next. "But, Elsa, I can see you."

"What?" I ask. "You can?"

"Yeah. You're right there," Anna says as she points at me.

"But, I-I died. I fell off a cliff and when I woke up, no one could see me." I don't understand. I try to remember everything. I felt the life drain away from my body. Then, Jack couldn't see me. Anna couldn't see me either, but now she can. It doesn't make any sense!

"Come on, Elsa. Stop messing around. What we really need to focus on is my honeymoon!" Anna sings.

"But you couldn't see me at first. That's why I asked Olaf to tell you that I was here. And when I knocked again and you opened the door, I walked right through you to get in."

Anna just looks at me with confused eyes. "Sure, sure."

I sit down on the couch by the window and stare outside. I wish I could bring Jack the some kind comfort. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Why do I care so much about Jack? After all, I hadn't seen him in twelve years. There's just something about him that attracts my attention. Maybe it's his tall skinny frame, or his big, blue eyes, or the fact that his powers are exactly the same as mine.

I don't know. But I do know that I need to find him.

I run outside and back to the place where I fell off the cliff. I remember seeing Jack fly somewhere to the north. I start losing my breath as I keep running. This is too hard for me. I can't keep running forever. Just when I'm about to give up, the wind catches me and lifts me up into the air. I'm flying like Jack does. I shut my eyes tight at first, but after a couple of seconds, I open them. I'm soaring into the air, higher and higher. I let out a cry of delight as a huge grin spreads across my face. Now that I can fly, I just need to figure out where he went. Then I hear a voice inside my head: "Follow the lights to the north." I look around to see who was talking, but the only thing accompanying me was the moon. I decide to listen to that voice, anyway. When I look out straight ahead, a wave of colored lights comes into view. I try moving faster, eager to see what's over there.

I fly for hours while the lights slowly move until they're right above my head. I try to land, but end up crashing to the ground. When I look up I see a huge circular building with smaller branch-offs around it. I walk up to the door and look inside. A bunch of yetis are in there making toys? Why would yetis make toys? I open the door and try to walk in, but two of the yetis charge at me, and throw me out. How could they see me? Aren't I invisible to most people? _But they're not people_, I remind myself. I walk around the whole building trying to find an alternate entrance, but there aren't any, except one. There's a window right under where the moon is in the sky. As a gust of wind blows, I jump up to catch it and fly onto the roof. As I peer inside, I can see some people. A big man is dressed in red with tattoos all over his arms. Next to him is a giant… kangaroo? I don't know. Then I girl in green is standing with her back towards me. Are those wings hanging from her shoulders? And lastly there is a pale yellow man who is barely three feet tall. Different symbols keep appearing above his head and then disappearing just as fast as they came.

I'm confused by the whole sight in front of me. Who are these strange people? I have so many questions and barely any answers. I'm still perched on the roof when I hear someone else being thrown into the snow by a yeti. I run over and look to see who it is. It's Jack. I begin to call his name, but I know he won't hear me. I can feel a hole of sadness open in my heart. Now that I can't even talk to him, I long for his company more than ever. I go over and stand next to him, but as soon as I'm there, he flies off. It's useless. I can't keep running after him when he doesn't even know I'm here.

I give up. I'll have to stop thinking about him and trying to get his attention. He has his own life to live, and I have mine… sort of.


	5. Jamie

About 250 years later.

Everyone I love is gone. I try to take care of Anna and Kristoff's descendants, but from a distance. When the rest of the kingdom couldn't see their queen, I left and never came back. I just stood back and watched as she took over the kingdom. But now they've all forgotten about me. None of them even believe in magic anymore, except one. One child descended from Anna and Kristoff's family believes in magic. His name is Jamie. I try to look out for him.

But one day, I see something I never expected to see again…

I watch Jamie as he and his friends are playing outside. They're all happily standing around and talking when I see him. The man I remember from long ago. I could never forget anything about him. His eyes, his nose, his voice; but especially the time we met. Jack. Seeing him unlocks all those feelings I've kept inside. All those feelings that I shoved down deep are surfacing. I can feel my eyes glistening as I put a hand on my mouth. Then I close my eyes and take a deep breath. What am I thinking? How can he be so important to me when I've avoided him for over two hundred years. A voice inside my head says, _because you didn't want to hurt him._ But I shake the thought away.

It seems as though Jack doesn't even remember me, though. He's too busy focusing on… having fun. He forms a snowball in his hand and throws it at Jamie. He brightens up and asks who threw it as he starts making a snowball himself. And suddenly, they're all so into their game that nobody notices when one of them hits the neighborhood bully until she lets out a growl. Jack, realizing the problem, throws a snowball at her to brighten her up, and it works! He wasn't kidding when he said his specialty was fun. They begin having a crazy snowball fight, and as one thing leads to another, Jamie is flying down the street on his sled. I run to go help him, preferring it over flying. Jack is trying to guide him by placing ice in front of him, but I can see that the sled doesn't want to stay on the path. I keep up with the sled, placing my hand on it to steady it. When it veers of to a pile of snow, I give it a hard push, hoping he'll land in the snow.

He lands safely, only to be rammed by a couch sliding passed.

I sit on the roof of Jamie's house as I think about Jack. No matter how much I try to get him out of my mind, I keep thinking of him. I can't stay focused. I'm so distant that it takes me a few minutes to realize that blackness is seeping into each house in the neighborhood. I scramble to my feet just in time to build an ice wall right next Jamie's window. The black sand crashes into it and falls harmlessly on the ground. I melt the ice wall quickly so no one will see it.

It's too dangerous for me to keep living in isolation. I need to talk to someone! My thoughts are getting the best of me and I need something else to do. I decide to go find Jack; to try one more time to make him see me. I just can't take the loneliness anymore.

I start flying around, looking for signs of where Jack might be when I end up back at the circular building. I learned that it belonged to… Santa Clause. Who would have guessed he actually exists? I fly over to a window and peer inside. There are the same four people I saw the first time. As I'm looking, I see a squirming sack appear out of nowhere followed by two yetis. Jack instantly jumps out of the sack and asks why they brought him there. They told him that the moon chose him to be a guardian and began performing the traditional guardian ritual. Jack stops them and declines their offer. I giggle as one of the elves has a temper tantrum. They all try to explain what guardians are all about, but Jack doesn't seem to care. Then Santa takes Jack out of the room. I jump in through the window and follow them.

They walk through the workshop and into a little office. I'm about to walk in after them when the door slams right in my face. "Thanks, wind," I grumble. I go back to where I entered the workshop. I'm about to fly out the window, but stop. The moon is shining right into the center of the room. The ground opens up to reveal a gem sitting on top of a pillar.

"Sandy, Bunnymund, you better come see this," the Tooth Fairy says. They walk over and look to see what she's talking about.

"_Another_ guardian!" the bunny exclaims. "Don't we have enough already?"

As I continue to watch, a figure appears above the gem. As I move closer, I realize it's me! I immediately fly out of the room. What did it mean? Why would there be a picture of me back there? I shake my head and rush back to Jamie's house. I've got to keep my eye on him. I can't be worrying about any of this. I just need to keep my sister's family safe.


	6. Fear

**Sorry for the late chapter everyone. I've been sick with the flu the past couple of days and didn't feel like writing it. (Even if I had written it, it probably would have been terrible.)**

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I wake up from guarding Jamie's house one night when I sense the blackness again. It's much stronger this time. As I look down, I see hundreds of horses made out of black sand. I look up and hear battle noises sounding from somewhere in the middle of the city. I fly off the roof immediately, wondering what could be going on. Up in the sky is a tall man dressed in black, his slicked back hair just as dark. In front of him is a small man made of golden sand. The two are battling. I see the darker man form an arrow out of black sand and shoot it at the golden man. His back starts turning black, starting from where the arrow hit and spreading all over his body. He suddenly explodes, forming a cloud of golden dust, which starts turning black by the dark horses.

I hear a cry from somewhere down below and see Jack rising up against the golden man's murderer. I know he won't be able to defeat him. As much as I tried to stay away from Jack, I know I have to help him. I fly up and send ice shooting out of my hands. He's surrounded by the black horses now. I freeze a massive amount of ice at his attackers. They start backing up and running away until Jack is suddenly falling to the ground. I panic because I know I will not be able to catch him. But then he lands safely in the sleigh.

"Jack," the fairy asks. "How did you do that?"

"I-I didn't know I could," he replies. I guess I'll have to keep an eye on him now, too. I can't keep running from what I'm afraid of: him not seeing me.

It's Easter Sunday, The guardians are all painting eggs, except Jack. He's carrying sleeping Sophie back home. I follow him just to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble, or so I tell myself. He puts her safely in bed and leaves the room. As he's making his way back, he stops as someone calls his name. Who would know him other than the guardians? He runs into the trees where the sound came from. There's a creepy looking hole with a bed over top of it where the cry is coming from. Jack, not caring about the danger, smashes the boards and hops into the hole. Reluctantly, I follow him.

It's dark down in the hole, which isn't surprising; but it has a feeling of evil. It's very large down here. Black sand is swirling from one side of the room to the other. My whole body tenses when I see more of those black sand horses. Thoughts of Jack getting hurt, Anna and Kristoff's deaths, and Olaf finally melting keep coming to my mind. I shut my eyes clench my hands in fists to keep them out. It's no use. My fears are growing by the second. When I reopen my eyes, I can't see Jack. All I see are shadows and black, swirling sand. I panic and turn around, trying to reach safety.

"As you've admitted before in your thoughts, dear Elsa, you can't run from what you're afraid of." I try to locate the voice, but it echos all around me. On the wall is a shadow of a tall figure with slicked back hair. I know him all too well. But how can he see me? No one can see me.

Not even Jack.

My mind is overtaken again by images of Anna's funeral. I collapse to the ground with a moan. "What are you doing?" I cry out. "Make it stop!" I can't stand the fear. It's like I'm being weighted down by my fears all over again like when I was a child. I cannot go through that torture again. I refuse.

"Please!" I scream, not being able to bear the pain. "Take it away!"

"How interesting," the man said casually. "I've never come across someone so full of fear before. You'd make a great partner in helping me make people fear."

"Never!" I shout, lunging myself at him. But before I can make any sort of attack, he disappears.

"That's a shame," Pitch says behind me. "We could have worked so well together."

"Just let me leave," I say with my teeth clenched.

"Very well. But it's too bad your dear Jack will never believe in you."

"What?" I ask.

"Oh, you don't know? When people stop believing in you, they stop seeing you. And I'm going to make a proposition to him. I'll make him my partner in overseeing the fear of all children," he says. And with an evil laugh, he disappears again.

I turn around and find myself outside the hole where Jack went into.

I'm about to wander off to find Jack and make sure he doesn't accept the deal when I hear some kids nearby. They all sound disappointed. I walk over to them and hear them saying, "I can't believe it, there's no such thing as the Easter Bunny."

"What?" I mumble. Have the kids really stopped believing in the Easter Bunny? I never thought this day would come. I wonder what happened to all those eggs they were painting.

It doesn't really matter. I have to find Jack. I lost him in those tunnels down there, and after the way pitch scared me, I'm worried about what Pitch said to him.

I fly up into the air, even though I prefer ground, and say, "All right wind, take me to Jack. I'm trusting you!" I close my eyes and let the wind take over.

When I open my eyes again, I'm out somewhere with ice all around and a strange black and icy structure next to an open crevice. I peer down into the crevice when I hear someone say, "I had a sister!" It's Jack. "I saved her! I'm… I'm a guardian."

I close my eyes and thank the moon that Jack didn't accept the deal. He picks up a few sticks next to him and tries to fit them together. I hadn't noticed them until now; it's his broken staff. I drop down into the hole and use my ice powers to forge the sticks together when he tries again. Our powers are working together, melding the pieces into one. Jack smiles and shoots up out of the hole with a wide smile on his face.

"Come on baby tooth! I owe you one."


	7. Pitch's Defeat

"Okay look, you and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads." Jamie is sitting on his bed talking to a stuffed bunny. I came here after Jack flew off. He's the last child who believes, but I'm afraid that won't last long.

"So here's what's gonna happen: If it wasn't a dream and if you are real, then you have to prove it. Like right now. I've believed in you for a long time, okay? Like, my whole life, in fact. So you kinda owe me now," Jamie keeps talking to the bunny. I have no idea what to do to make him keep believing. I see Jack over at the window and hope he'll come up with something.

"You don't have to do much, just a little sign so I know. Anything. Anything at all." Jamie looks expectantly at his stuffed animal. Then he lets it fall to the ground with defeat. "I knew it."

But then, Jack frosts the window over and begins drawing an easter egg on it. Jamie notices and looks over. "Huh?" Jamie's eyes light up and a smile stretches across his face. "He's real!" Jack is delighted. He draws a bunny on the glass and brings it to life, making it hop across the room. I'm relieved that Jack figured out a way to keep Jamie believing.

But the threat is still lurking in the shadows of the streets. Outside the window in the darker places, I can see nightmares waiting to pounce on an unexpecting child. All they wait for is Pitch's command. I exit the room, leaving Jack in control. I have to make sure the nightmares don't get to Jamie.

The first one I see is right outside his window. I swoop down, freezing its hooves. It turns its attention towards me and starts galloping after me. I try to impale it with icicles, but it dodges every move I make. It's like it knows where I'm going to be before I do. The horse keeps chasing me, forcing me up into the sky. Then it turns and gallops off like nothing happened. I'm about to go after it when I see Pitch in front of me.

"Hello, Elsa," he says in that terrifyingly smooth voice of his.

"What do you want?" I demand.

"I'm trying to find Jack and the guardians. You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?"

"No," I say firmly. He can't find out. I know he'll hurt every one of them if he gets the chance.

"Is that so?" he asks. "Well, I have a guess. With the last light. Trying to make him believe again. Nightmares!" He calls out. Almost immediately, two are at my sides, keeping me from flying off. "I'm going to let you watch while I turn every child to fear. Soon, they'll all believe in me!"

"No!" I shout. "Jack would never let you do that."

"How can you be so sure when all your life you have been running away from him? You're in constant fear of never getting him back. In fact, I'm feeding off your fear right now."

How had I not noticed? His black sand is swarming him now, growing bigger and bigger around him. I've led myself into a trap that is now going to make it harder for the guardians to defeat him.

"Oh, look. There are the guardians now. Enjoy the show," he says in a menacing voice and leaves me to the mercy of his nightmares. I can't stand to just watch him take over, so I don't.

I zap the horse on my left with a ball of ice, hoping it would get scared and run off. But to my surprise, the ice spreads across the horse, slowly turning it to ice. When it's completely covered, it explodes into snow. I look at my hands in shock. I didn't know I could do that. But I forgot about the second horse. It charges at me, catching me off guard. It rams into me, causing me to fall. I stop myself right before hitting the ground and infect the second horse with ice the same way I did the first.

I look around, trying to see where Pitch is. If I can stop him, I will. I see Jack on the ground. "Jack!" Jamie runs to him and helps him up.

"That was good try," Santa says. "A for effort."

"He's stronger," Jack moans. "I can't beat him."

"All this fuss over one little boy, and he still refuses to stop believing. Very well. There are other ways to snuff out a light," Pitch says. I protectively move in front of Jamie.

The easter bunny steps through me. "If you want him, you're gonna have to go through me."

Pitch is not phased. The bunny is the size of a normal bunny now because the children stopped believing in him. "Look how fluffy you are! Would you like a scratch behind the ears?"

"Don't you even think about it!"

"I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you all like this," Pitch says as he moves closer. The guardians form a circle around him. "You look awful."

Jamie's eyes have grown huge. He looks up and says, "Jack, I'm scared."

Jack looks distant for a minute, as if remembering an old memory. "I know, I know. But you're gonna be all right," he says, still looking distant. Then he snaps back to reality. "We're gonna have a little fun instead. That's it! That's my center!" I look up at him. He told me that long ago. I wonder if he's forgotten about me and everything we did together.

I force these thoughts out of my head as Pitch advances. "So, what do you think Jamie? Do you believe in the boogiema-" He's cut off as a snowball hits him in the face.

"Now let's go get your friends," Jack says to Jamie. It doesn't take long for them to round up all the kids from the neighborhood.

"You think a few children can help you against this?" Pitch gestures to his nightmares.

"They're just bad dreams, Jamie," Jack comforts him.

"But we'll protect you, mate," Bunnymund says.

"Aw, you'll protect them. But who will protect you?" Pitch laughs. Everything seems to be in his favor.

"I will." Jamie steps forward. All of his friends stand forward with him.

"I will."

"Me, too."

"And me."

"I'll try."

"Still think there's no such thing as the boogieman?" Pitch sends a wave of nightmares towards them.

"I do believe in you," Jamie admits. "I'm just not afraid of you." Jamie and the neighborhood kids hold up their hands just as the nightmares come. Then, the black sand changes into golden sand when it touches them. Their belief made his dark sand good. They run around the street touching any dark sand they see. All the golden sand is accumulating in one place around the corner. "I got it," Jamie says to his gang. "I know what we have to do! Guys, come on!" Jamie leads them to where the golden sand is.

I follow them around the buildings and see a giant mass of golden sand. "Come on, guys!" Jamie puts his hands in the golden dust. His friends do the same. Suddenly, the sand rises up in the sky and lets out beams of light. When the light recedes, I see the little golden man Pitch defeated earlier. He comes down and gives Jamie a high five before flying over to help the guardians. I follow him, eager to see the turnout of this situation. I get there just in time to see the sandman shake his finger at Pitch and throw him in the air just to slam him back onto the ground.

We won!

Well, they won.

All the guardians are in the sleigh headed back towards North's workshop. Jack just told Jamie that he and the guardians would always watch over him. I followed them, determined not to run from my fear anymore.

"Um… Hey, North, Jack?" Tooth says.

"Yes, what do you want?" North asks.

"Back in your workshop the other day, when you were showing Jack your center, Bunnymund, Sandy, and I saw something. The moon… chose another guardian."

"What?!" North asks. "Why did you not tell us before?"

"Well, there was a lot going on then. Anyway, in the crystal there was an image of a girl with light colored hair braided down the side and blue eyes. She was wearing a blue dress. Does anybody know her?"

All the guardians shook their heads except Jack. "I might actually," Jack said in deep thought.

"Well, who is it?" Bunny asked.

Then, Jack looked directly at me, took my hand, and said, "Elsa."


End file.
